This invention relates generally to a system for arresting the fall of roofing personnel.
In working on elevated surfaces, the dangers of a disabling or fatal fall are always present for workers, unless some reliable restraint system is provided for the elevated surface to protect the workers from a fall. Persons working on roofs of buildings and homes are especially vulnerable to these falls since oftentimes fall arrest systems are not used by the workers. Such systems are not used for a variety of reasons. For example, one such system requires the worker to wear a belt and have a restraint rope connected to the belt. The other end of the rope is connected to some portion of the building such that should the worker slip and fall, the rope prevents the worker from falling to the ground. Workers are sometimes reluctant to use these systems because they are cumbersome and impede free movement about the roof.
Another type of system also includes a belt or harness worn by the user, with the harness connected to a rope or belt, which is in turn connected to an inertia-reel type system. In this type of system, the inertia-reel allows payout of the rope as the worker moves about the roof, but should the worker move suddenly or jerk the rope, the inertia-reel locks and prevents further payout of the rope, similar to how inertia-reel automotive safety belts operate. The purpose of the abut system is to sense when a worker begins to free fall and to thereby lock the belt to prevent the user from hitting the ground. This can be annoying to workers in that should they inadvertently make a sudden move, the rope becomes locked. Fall protection systems are particularly important to provide for worker safety and for limiting liability, but such systems are of increasing importance due to recent OSHA regulations requiring fall arrest systems for certain workers working above ground or floor level in certain situations.
Various fall arrest systems have been patented. For example, Netherlands patent document 8800-985 discloses a fall arrest system which connects to a roofing gutter and which bears against the side wall of the building. Such an application would generally not be acceptable where gutter systems are of the type typically constructed in the United States. U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,587, issued to Myers, discloses a safety guard apparatus which actually attaches to a roof being constructed, and which apparently must be removed in order to complete the roof. British Patent Application No. 2,243,397, discloses a safety guard rail apparatus having a plurality of members which also attaches to the roof and which also must apparently be removed before the roof can be completed. German Patent Document No. 2504348 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,481, issued to Probst, disclose safety rail systems which attach to the roof. German Patent Document No. 3132193 discloses a fall arrest system for use especially on flat roofs having a retaining plate for anchoring in the roof's surface. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,725, issued to Hutchings II, et al., is also fixedly attached to the roofing or wall structure, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,689, issued to Berlin, discloses a device for attachment to the edges of a roof being re-shingled which prevents the old shingles from falling onto shrubbery and into the yard.
Taking into account the above restraint devices, there still exists a need for a device contemplated by the present invention which can be easily connected to and removed from a building, particularly during initial construction of a roof. Such a device would overcome limitations of the above devices in that it would be readily attachable to the structure in a manner which would not significantly interfere with complete construction of the roof. Such a device would also be readily adjustable to accommodate structures having differing wall thicknesses and roofs of different pitches. Further, such a device would be easy to set up, take down, and transport from one job site to another. Another desired feature would be that the device would include a walkboard or a platform which could be used by workers when working at the extremities of the roof.
Moreover, the device would ideally be able to accommodate roofs having overhang portions of a variety of dimensions.